The question is, can your family afford to take care of the stray while you search for a possible owner. It would be nice if the animal had a chip, or had a collar with the information needed to get the stray back to an owner.

If there is no chip or any information about the stray, making flyers about where you found the animal and placing them near the spot, so if there is an owner, they can contact you about the animal and you can return it to them.

If no one calls about the animal, you must make the choice to keep the animal and take care of it if you can, or to call your local animal control to come and pick up the animal. This choice must be a family decision, if you choose to keep the stray, than it is up to you to care for that animal.

Taking care of a stray means taking the animal to a vet for a health check, shots, medication, or anything the stray may need after the vet gives it a .

If the stray is healthy, it is up to you to care for the animal if it needs food, water, playtime, exercise, a place to sleep, maybe even a fenced yard. It all depends on the stray.

You don’t want more animals than the regulations allow for where you live, but if you do decide to keep the animal because you can’t find an owner, remember that there is a lot to do when you’re caring for any animal.

You also want to introduce the new pet slowly to make sure that it gets along with any other pets in the house. Do this by letting them meet outside somewhere away from the backyard, or any place that the pet you have feels is theirs.

Watch for any signs that the new animal and any you may have are comfortable with each other, which may take a few days.